Russians have murdered, tortured and kidnapped Ukrainians in a systematic pattern that could implicate top officials in war crimes, a senior U.S. official said Monday as Kyiv said it had discovered four Russian torture sites in newly-liberated Kherson. Moscow, in turn, accused Ukrainian forces of summarily killing a number of prisoners of war after a…
A Polish court on Monday overturned a decision by Poland’s anti-monopoly watchdog to impose a 6.2 billion euro ($6.3 billion) fine against Russian gas giant Gazprom, the watchdog said. The fine imposed in 2020 against Gazprom and five other companies, including British-Dutch giant Shell, was over construction of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline. Supplies through…
The first criminal case against conscripted soldiers refusing to fight in Ukraine has opened in Russia, according to footage circulating on social media over the weekend. The video shows two soldiers who allegedly refused to go to the frontlines being pulled out of a lineup by military police, according to the Veteran’s Notes Telegram channel.…
Jailed Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny said Monday that he is suing his maximum security prison for not giving him winter boots, as temperatures in Russia drop below freezing. “I am suing my colony and demanding to be issued winter boots,” Navalny said on Twitter. The 46-year-old is serving a nine-year sentence outside Vladimir, a…
The director of a children’s play has claimed that its run at a Siberian theater was canceled just days after it began due to audience allegations that its content amounted to “gay propaganda,” local media reported on Sunday. The incident in the city of Novosibirsk came as lawmakers in Russia’s State Duma are debating…
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov on Monday denied the Kremlin was considering a second wave of mobilization to further bolster Russian forces in Ukraine. “There are no discussions about that,” Peskov told reporters in a call, according to the state-run TASS news agency. The Kremlin denial of another round of mobilization came amid increasing speculation that…
The New York Times said Sunday it has verified footage showing captive Russian troops being killed by Ukrainian forces as experts remain divided on whether the grisly episode constitutes a war crime or an act of self-defense. At least four drone and cellphone videos of the incident emerged between Nov. 12-17 as Ukraine recaptured the village…
Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday congratulated Kazakhstan’s incumbent president, Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, on his landslide victory in a snap presidential poll held months after deadly unrest in the oil-rich Central Asian country. “You have received a convincing mandate of trust from fellow citizens, which opens up new opportunities for the implementation of the course…
At least five people were killed in a fire at a warehouse in central Moscow near three railway stations linking the Russian capital to major cities, according to Russian emergency services. The fire broke out at a two-story brick warehouse on Sunday afternoon near the usually busy stations connecting Moscow to cities such as St.…
Ukrainian authorities said they will soon begin voluntary evacuations from the liberated southern city of Kherson and nearby areas as Russian strikes have hammered the country’s power grid at the onset of winter. Remaining residents of Kherson — as well as Mykolaiv 65 kilometers to the northwest — whose homes were damaged in Russia’s invasion…